For those who don’t know, a fellow student, friend, brother, son, and loved one passed away last weekend. Maxwell L. Gadau was a great friend – funny, charismatic, strong, and protective. Those close enough to Max know he would stand up for himself, his friends, and his family if it came down to it. A dedicated swimmer, Max had plans to attend Eastern Illinois University then transfer to Iowa. He was planning to finish school at Iowa with a major in Bioengineering. Max wouldn’t want us to mourn for too long; he’d want us to celebrate his life. For those who knew Max including myself, we consider ourselves lucky. He is a treasure and someone who would do for you just as he would do for his family. So I wanted to share a few memories from the lives Max touched while he was with us.

“I remember one time for Max’s 11th or 12th birthday, a bunch of us hung out at his house and slept over,” Sam Tompkins, senior, said. “When we woke up we went out to the street and skated at 10 in the morning.”

“I remember in 6th grade, Max and I would sit at our desks right across from each other and draw up stick figure cartoons and laugh about them when we were done,” Danilo Ranger, senior, said.

“One day after school, Esther, Demetra, and I followed Max on the Pace bus to his house, and we didn’t have a ride back to North so he waited with us at a park for about an hour,” Myah Aharoni, senior, said.

“Max was supposed to have a party, and it didn’t really turn out that way, so a few of us just hung out with him at his house,” Lia Yousif, senior, said. “And I was a little uncomfortable so Max let me borrow some sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and house shoes for the time I stayed.”

“Max had me order us Jimmy Johns and have them deliver it to the school under Mr. Aguirre’s name so they wouldn’t send the food back,” Adrianna Marijanovich, senior, said.

Those are just a few of the memories that Max Gadau has left with us. He enjoyed spending time with his friends and family. He lit the hallways with his jokes and unforgettable laughter. Maxwell Langley Gadau was an outstanding person that left us too soon, and he will be missed dearly. We love you, Maxi. Rest in Peace.

We will continue to gather memories of Max for upcoming tribute. If you have some fond personal memories of how Max impacted your life, please forward them to the following email:

[email protected]